Game:

Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019)

Duration: 21:46

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Before starting Surprise Trade, there was a code that was revealed at the Pokémon World Championships, you can get a Level 50 Victini through Mystery Gift, and it comes with the moves V-create, Zen Headbutt, Work Up, and Flame Charge. I remember there were past Victini events where it came with Legendary signature moves like Blue Flare and Bolt Strike, which were some great moves on it, but this Victini does not come with those moves.
Now for Surprise Trade, and I will be trading Magikarp, it had to happen at some point. I breed for 31 IVs in at least 4 or 5 stats, and these Magikarp have a Jolly Nature, it can work with Adamant as well, and some have the Hidden Ability of Rattled, this turns into Moxie when it evolves into Gyarados.
Magikarp doesn't get any Egg Moves, and I did consider giving all of them Bounce, but I didn't want to waste too much time teaching that move to all of them, and its only level up moves are Tackle and Flail.
It evolves into Gyarados at Level 20, and while Magikarp is one of the weakest Pokémon in the game, Gyarados has great stats, it has a massive Attack stat, and it is a destructive force in battle, Swift Swim turns into Intimidate when it evolves. It learns Bite upon evolution, and it can relearn Leer, Twister, Whirlpool, Ice Fang, Brine, and Scary Face, as those are all moves Gyarados learns before Level 20. For the rest of its moves, it can learn Waterfall, Crunch, Rain Dance, Aqua Tail, Dragon Dance, Hydro Pump, Hurricane, Thrash, and Hyper Beam.
Next are TMs and TRs, Magikarp only learns Bounce and Hydro Pump, but for what moves it can learn as Gyarados, it can get Giga Impact, Thunder Wave, Icy Wind, Dive, Payback, Avalanche, Bulldoze, and Brutal Swing, and for TRs, it can learn Flamethrower, Surf, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Fire Blast, Blizzard, Thunder, Body Slam, Earthquake, Outrage, Iron Tail, Taunt, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Power Whip, Iron Head, Stone Edge, and Scald, and for Tutor moves, it can learn Scale Shot and Lash Out. In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Gyarados learns Roar, Torment, Sleep Talk, and Strength, it cannot learn Power Whip, Iron Head, and Bounce in those games.
Gyarados has a great competitive history, while it has a massive weakness to Electric-type moves, it is one of the most destructive sweepers in the game, it has a high Attack stat, and it has access to Dragon Dance to boost its Attack and Speed, and it can sweep with moves like Waterfall, Earthquake, and Ice Fang. In this game, Gyarados benefits hugely from Dynamax with Max Airstream from Bounce, and it can learn Power Whip as a way to deal with Water-type opponents. It can go with Moxie to continue its sweep, and after a Dragon Dance and Max Airstream, nothing can stop Gyarados. Most Gyarados sets use a Wacan Berry to reduce the damage from Electric-type moves, specially when Dynamaxed so it can survive an Electric-type move, but aside from that, Gyarados has a lot of options to make use of in battle.
Gyarados is a fearsome threat in Double Battles, Intimidate is the preferred Ability, and it can use Bounce, or Max Airstream, to give its team extra Speed, and Power Whip to deal with Water-type Pokémon, it has a lot of options to choose from in battle, and while it isn't in the top usage, this is because the current format allows Restricted Legendary Pokémon, and Gyarados faces competition with Incineroar and Landorus Therian Forme as an Intimidate user.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Gyarados cannot know Bounce, Power Whip, Iron Head, and Outrage, this has removed its best way of dealing with Water-type Pokémon. Its best set is Dragon Dance to boost its Attack and Speed, Waterfall for STAB, and a choice between Ice Fang, Crunch, and Earthquake for a coverage move.
Gyarados is even one of the best Pokémon when going through the game, while it is very weak as a Magikarp, once it evolves, it learns Waterfall at Level 21, meaning Gyarados is set, and it learns Crunch and Dragon Dance through level up, making Gyarados less reliant on TMs to be that good, it is one of few Pokémon that does not rely on TMs as much, although Earthquake is a good move to add to Gyarados. I do remember there was an online competition which was a Double Battle where you had to use Magikarp and one other Pokémon, and I have seen a lot of gimmicky online competitoons, I haven't been interested in them as I don't play Sword & Shield that much anymore, I do still play them, but I don't do online battles on them that much.

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